Just like clockwork
by Assorted Souls
Summary: For years and years Freddy has pursued the night guard, driven by an unquenchable thirst for revenge. However, when one of his friends breaks down and no one will fix them, Freddy has to turn to the one he despises... Michael Schmidt. But things aren't always what they seem, and the pizzeria holds secrets even darker then previously thought...((Rating may change. Contains Frexy.)
1. Chapter 1

_**Just Like Clockwork – A Five Nights at Freddy's fan fiction**_

**(A/N: Alright, so, guys, I discovered FnaF about two months ago, and I have to say, I've become part of this fandom INCREDIBLY fast. The fans are all amazing people, you guys are so talented! I'm a little shy about writing a story on here, since I haven't had a very good past with fan fiction, and I've been doubting my writing skills recently, but I'll try my best! This story will be focusing on Freddy, but Foxy and the others will be in here a bit too, so don't worry. The story will be based on the old animatronics, although the new ones may come in later. Also, since pairings seem to be popular at the moment, I am going to include at least one pairing. The pairing I will almost certainly include is a boyxboy one, so if you don't like that kinda stuff, then, well, don't read it.**  
><strong>Anyway... Don't be afraid to leave a review or ask a question, although flames aren't appreciated. Onto the story!)<strong>

The moon. The ruddy thing shone through the window, right into his eyes. Dear lord, it was bright tonight! He had to blink at it for a few seconds before his eyes adjusted. When they did, he still didn't feel like moving. The moon was something that he was willing to abandon himself to, he would be more then willing to stare at it forever and ever. However thoughts flooded his mind with that inevitable sinking feeling, and he forced his gaze downwards. The restaurant was silent, apart from the odd creaking or the sound of a footstep... It was a repulsive place during the day, filled to the brim with screeching children and the stench of grease, but at night, when the air fell silent, it had its own bizarre beauty.

Still feeling rather fuzzy, he turned from side to side, trying to shake the static out of his head. A jolt went right through him as he realised Bonnie and Chica were gone. Ah yes. It's night four, isn't it? The security guard must almost be done by now, surely. Lordy, it must be rather late if Bonnie and Chica were already on the move. "Get your act together, Freddy. The others will end up out-pacing you if you keep this up."

The camera in the corner flickered on, diverting his attention. He leered as creepily as he possibly could, glaring at the unblinking cyclops eye, knowing that the guard would be practically wetting himself. The thought gave him grim satisfaction. The red light went black hurriedly, leaving Freddy to his own devices once again. The animatronic shifted uncomfortably. He enjoyed chasing the guards, but tonight he really wasn't in the mood.

Instead, he decided that he would observe quietly. Not that there was anything to observe, really. It was still painfully silent and his fellow animatronics were nowhere in sight. Unease made its stealthy way into his chest. Every night he found himself worrying for their safety. True, they were the hunters here, but if a guard ever managed to sneak a weapon to work, they wouldn't last long. They were all falling to bits. Just a week ago Freddy's jaw had started to come loose, and he was scared about it coming off completely. A gun or a knife could definitely destroy, or at least maim them. He used to get a wild thrill from the hunt, he used to feel a shiver of ecstasy when victory fell into his grasp, but now that the odds of winning had been equalled out, now that every night they were endangering themselves, not just the guard...

Oh, he didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.

He'd never liked being scared. Not only because fear was a downright unpleasant emotion, but because it brought back memories that he didn't like to recall. Then again, Freddy never liked to remember anything. Mainly because it hurt. But also because there were good memories there too, and they were even worse than the pain. Those five faces, staring up at him, smiling, laughing, holding his hand. The children... He'd let them down, and nothing made him guiltier than that knowledge. It was NOT going to happen again. No matter what the cost was, he was going to protect them.

Just as Freddy could feel his thoughts decaying into his usual lonely, senseless musing, a noise distracted him. A loud screech, similar to the sound one of them made when the guard was captured, but subtly different. It was longer and had a grating edge to it, like fingernails on a blackboard.

"What on Earth is THAT?! The security guard? Surely not. But... What is it, then? One of the others?"

He waited, lifting his metal arms ever so slightly, readying himself for... Well, anything. A few minutes passed, and just when he was beginning to convince himself that he'd imagined it, the scream came again. This time, it was even more odd. It seemed to last an age, and trailed off, turning into what sounded like... Crying? Freddy turned around this time, glancing around his restaurant in alarm. The noise felt like it'd come from very close by, but the dining hall was empty. And anyway, the only sentient beings in the immediate vicinity were himself and...

Freddy tilted his head to the side, fixing his gaze on the curtains on the other side of the dining area. Foxy? It could've been him, but he couldn't imagine why his fellow animatronic would be making such a racket. A new attempt to scare the guard, maybe? Some kind of joke? He frowned. Whatever was going on, it didn't sound good. After a few minutes of indecision, Freddy decided that he'd wait and see if the sound happened again. He didn't have to wait for long. The wail happened a third time, except now it was quieter, more of a high-pitched whine than a scream. This time it was cut off part-way through by a jumbled, glitching mess of pre-recorded speech. Freddy knew that voice. It was definitely Foxy causing the commotion, he could recognise the over-the-top pirate's accent anywhere.

"SCREEEEEEEEE- 'Ello me 'earties and welcome to Pirate's Cove I- Freddy best be getting' back to th- Scrreeeeeee- the stage- I hope all ye lads ha- I'm F-F-Foxy the pa-pa-pa-pirate it's wonderful to be meeting ye ma- Goodbye lads ol' Foxy's sh-shutting down for todayyyyyyy goodbye goodbye gooooooddddddbbbbyyyyyyeeeeeeeeee..."

Freddy looked hastily up at the various cameras stationed around the room, and after confirming that they were all off he bumbled across the dining hall as fast as he could, knocking over a few chairs in the process. After falling over a few times on the stairs, cursing his large metal feet, he finally managed to reach the Pirate's Cove curtains. Upon opening them Freddy had expected to see Foxy glaring out at him, but instead the fox was slouching on the floor at the back of the old stage. Freddy could only just make out the pirate's shape in the darkness. As softly as he could, Freddy called out his name.

"Foxy?"

Yellow eyes flickered open, two pin-pricks of light glaring through the darkness. There was an awful cracking sound as Foxy moved his head slightly, and Freddy could see the animatronic's teeth glinting. The sight unnerved him, but he stood his ground. A few more cracks, clicks, hums and whirs later Foxy had managed to stand on both feet.

"Foxy? Is..."

Freddy grimaced. He'd never been good at stringing sentences together independently. The others had always been quite good with language, but despite the fact that he was (supposedly) the most advanced out of all of them, he'd always lagged behind when it came to English.

"Is... Is something wrong... You? I hear noise. Came to... Help?"

Foxy whined like a wounded animal, one of his legs beginning to wobble dangerously. Freddy started to walk forward to try to help him, but the fox raised a large metal hand, stopping Freddy in his tracks...

"I'm alright, matey... Me curcuits... 'ave been malfunctionin' a bit... But... I'm OK... I dinnae think ol' Foxy'll be 'aving much luck wit' suitin' up th'... Endoskeleton... Tanight, though."

Endoskeleton. Not security guard. It always seemed odd to Freddy that the others hadn't figured out what their prey really was. Not that he minded. It was better to keep them in the dark, to be honest. He'd always viewed the hunting of the guards as revenge for the children. No one could blame him for wanting revenge, right? But if the others knew the truth they almost certainly wouldn't agree... Which was why he'd reprogrammed them to believe the guard was an endoskeleton, all those years ago...

"You were... Making loud. Loud noise. It... sounded not-nice. I want... Help you. You friend of me... I don't want you... Hurt."

Foxy worked his jaw back and forth, trying his best to smile. Now he'd stood up Freddy could see him a bit better. Foxy looked exhausted... Broken. This couldn't be normal for an animatronic, surely, even a broken one! The poor creature was shuddering like a sapling in the wind!

"Ol' Foxy is a'right, matey. S-Say, I-I'll prove it to ya, eh? Th'- Th' endo hasn't been a checkin' me cove on them cameras... so why don't I do what I normally do, run down that hall an in th' door, so I will!

Freddy shook his head. Foxy had always been like this. Once when he'd been performing and his leg had fallen off he'd refused help from any of the staff, instead he'd crawled across the stage himself to go get it. Foxy always preferred to help himself, rather than asking for assistance from others. And, not only would he spurn those who tried to help, he'd also do something foolhardy to try and prove he was OK.

"NO! You are... obvi... obvi..."

"It's o-obviously, matey."

"You are... Obviously not good. You shouldn't be... Moving. Rest. Rest is good. Don't want you to get broken."

"Ye want me ta rest, matey? HA, tha's a good one, tha' is! 'Ave ye seen me run, matey? Ol' Foxy never rests!"

The fox was quivering even more violently now, and there were sparks flying from his head, but somehow he was still on his feet. Freddy waddled a few steps, hoping to get the fox to sit down, but before he knew what was happening, Foxy had darted out of the way. With a soft whoosing noise the curtains flew open and Foxy was launching himself down the steps, through the dining hall and beyond. Freddy followed, hissing as one of his own feet loosened in it socket. Foxy's running was more laboured then usual, his legs having to work much harder.

"Foxy, stop! NO! Come back!"

The pirate was about to leave the dining hall when the event that Freddy had been dreading came to pass. There was that same horrid wailing noise and Foxy froze mid-step as if he had been paralysed. As if in slow motion, the animatronic fell backwards, smoke pouring from his body, eyes wide open in shock. Then there was a deafening crash and Foxy was on the ground. Freddy paused, hoping that Foxy would move or get up again. He didn't. He just laid there, unmoving, frozen in the same pose. Freddy walked over, confusion and fear making him shake.

"F-Foxy?"

He knelt down beside his friend. Foxy was still sparking and smoking, but his eyes were closed and he didn't move.

"Foxy, are you... Awake? You alright?"

No response. Just the sizzling of electricity and the odd buzz or whirr. Freddy felt panic nestle into his chest, and he sat down, grabbing Foxy's head and holding it up gently.

"Foxy? Wake up? Not six yet... Not six... You need to wake up! Now, Foxy! NOW!"

He took on a demanding tone, hoping that perhaps if he was firmer then Foxy might listen. When there was still no reply he felt the panic begin to turn into something else. An ache, as if his some of the gears in his throat were jammed. What was going on here? Something was wrong with Foxy, but what was it? Did he need to be fixed?

"Foxy... Told you was bad... Told you should've rested... No listen to me. Never listen. What do I do now? What I do?"

Silence. Just silence.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP YOU S-STUPID FOX!"

Then Freddy remembered something, something which made his heart sink. Death. Humans died, right? He'd seen if happen with those poor five kids, he'd caused it plenty of times when it came to the guards. But now that Foxy was lying in his arms, his eyes jammed wide, Freddy began to wonder. Was Foxy... Dead? Could robots die? He juddered, overcome by a sudden wave of sadness. Foxy couldn't be dead...

"BAD. Sad bad sad. I no like, Foxy, I no like! You not dead?"

It was then he began to notice the smaller details. The oil leaking out of Foxy's joints, the way his jaw hung open and his body was all limp. The smoke... Freddy felt something rise up into his mouth, and before he knew it he was wailing, crying like he'd seen some of the children do when they were scared or sad.

"FOXYYYYYYYYYYYY! FOXYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

For a while he sat there and howled, attracting the attention of the other two. However, when they reached the room they simply stood there and watched Freddy grieve. Bonnie and Chica were certainly very intelligent, but this situation was beyond their grasp. When Freddy finally noticed that they were there he attempted to compose himself. After all, Foxy COULDN'T be dead. He'd learnt from experience that whenever a robot broke or stopped working then all you needed to do was fix them, and then they'd be right as rain. But, how did you "fix" a robot? Freddy frowned. This posed a problem. He had no clue how to fix things, which meant they'd need a mechanic. But Foxy was a "retired" animatronic, the mechanics hadn't bothered with him since the bite... And they couldn't force the mechanics to fix him, because they were only around during the day when the animatronics were shut off.

The only human here during the night was the security guard. Freddy pondered that for a minute. The guard must be smart if he'd survived for this long. It was night four, after all. Maybe this guard knew how to fix things! Freddy briefly considered the fact that the guard would probably be unwilling to help them after he'd been hunted and terrified out of his wits by them, but he soon let go of that notion. It was worth a shot, and anyway, if the guard refused, well, Freddy had always been good at "persuading" people. Usually his techniques involved a lot of growling and an empty Freddy suit. Not pleasant for the person on the receiving end.

"Fr-Freddy? What is wrong with F-F-Foxy?"

Freddy turned around. Chica was staring at him, her eyes wide in concern.

"Foxy... Broken. Mechanics no fix. I not know how to help. I try to get endo to help fix Foxy, OK?"

She nodded, purple eyes flashing.

"If you think the endo can help..."

Bonnie looked on, shifting from foot to foot nervously. Freddy pulled himself back to his feet, putting down Foxy's body as delicately as he could manage. The bear tipped his hat at Bonnie before slipping off down the hall, towards the security guard's office.

(A/N: And that's a wrap! See ya next chappie, mates!)


	2. Chapter 2: Encounter

((Hi there guys! I'm back for another chapter! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!))

Mike was terrified. So terrified. His heart was beating like a drum and his throat was drier than a desert. Why had he come back for a fourth night? Why? He should have realised how dangerous this was, but NO, he just had to come back, he had to give in to his stubborn instincts. Stupid boy! Now you're gonna die! He whimpered, sobbing like a child. In truth, the night had been going relatively well, but then, about half an hour ago, the cameras had stopped working. No matter what room he went onto, it was always the same. Camera disabled, audio only, camera disabled, audio only... Now he was left vulnerable, having to depend on his door lights and the distant creaks and sounds of metal feet. You're going to get stuffed in a Freddy suit, Mike, you bloody idiot. You're going to die... You're going to die...

It was then that Mike heard the footsteps. They were quiet, but very close. The pattern, the way that they padded gently along the floor was different to the sound of Bonnie and Chica walking. He stuffed his fist in his mouth, attempting to stifle a sob. It was Freddy! Oh god, it was Freddy! Mike silently prayed to as many gods as he could think of on the spot, before reaching out with a shaking arm and jabbing at the "door light" button. As expected, Freddy was there, staring at his with those awful, awful empty eyes, huge metal head tilted to the side. Mike felt all the air leave his lungs as he fell over backwards in his chair, screaming, feeling his heart jolt and beat erratically. Was he having a heart attack? His vision was going all blurry...

Freddy approached, step after step, making a horrifying grinding noise with his teeth. It reminded Mike of the sound his cat had once made before pouncing on a moth. Except, now, he was the moth. The bear's huge frame appeared before him, looming out of the darkness. Mike whimpered again, not caring if he sounded cowardly and undignified. This was it. The end. He wondered if there was an after-life. Probably not. Would people miss him? Almost certainly. He could already picture his parents crying by his graveside, his five year old sister asking them what was wrong... The thought made him sob even louder, until he found himself staring up at Freddy, pleading, screaming.

"PLEASE! I don't want to die! PLEASE!"

Freddy glared back down, eyes glinting. He took another step, before reaching for Mike with his big metal paws. Mike covered his eyes, surrendering himself. All of this had come about because he'd loved Freddy's when he was small. All of this because he was desperate to uncover the restaurant's mysteries. All of this because he wanted to help those who couldn't help themselves. Freddy's fingers closed on Mike's shoulders surprisingly softly. Mike readied himself for the end.

"I... Not going to hurt you. You safe."

The voice was quiet and slightly garbled, like a child or a foreigner's voice, but Mike recognised it through his haze of fear. That was the same voice Freddy spoke with when he sang. The same voice Freddy had used when he'd wished him happy seventh birthday. Mike opened his eyes. Freddy had lowered himself onto his knees and was holding the guard by the shoulders, very gently. Mike felt confusion build in him, taking away the fear. Had Freddy just... Talked? Sure, he'd heard Freddy rattle off pre-recorded messages plenty of times, but this was different. This was Freddy, actually, genuinely talking. How was this possible? How? These robots had been made in the 19-freaking-70s!

"F-F-Freddy? Did you just t-t-talk?"

The bear removed one of his hands from Mike's shoulders, motioning to his throat.

"Yes... I talk. Not well, but Freddy talk."

Mike frowned.

"How? How can you talk?"

"I not know. I not know much, to being honest."

Mike swallowed, wondering if the next question was wise.

"And, uh, Freddy... How come you're not... Trying to stuff me in a suit?"

Freddy moved back onto his feet with what might or might not have been a sigh.

"I wanted to put you in suit. Security guard hurt child, yes? Cannot let it happen again. But... I need help. Foxy... He fall over. He go all... Sparks and smoke. Then quiet. I know not why. I hope you can help. You can help, yes?"

"S-so you know I'm human?"

"Yes."

"D-do the other o-ones know?"

"No. They think you endoskeleton. They not know you is human."

"And y-you want me to fix that fox thing?"

Mike felt an unexpected rush of courage and anger.

"You want me to he-help you? After I know that y-you killed all those poor innocent people?"

"They not innocent."

Freddy stared at him sternly, eyes flaring with startlingly human-like aggression.

"One guard hurt children. They bad. If one security guard hurt children, others will too. Cannot risk children being hurt. I hunt guard. I kill. I protect children. But I not kill you. Only if you help me. Fix Foxy, yes?"

He didn't really have much of a choice. Freddy's message was clear. Fix the bloody fox, or you die. Mike got to his feet, wobbling slightly. He didn't really know how to fix animatronics, he knew a bit about engineering from his father, but not much. Still, Freddy didn't need to know that. He turned and walked cautiously out of the security door, every now and again looking behind him. Freddy followed quietly, blue eyes glowing murderously. It was obvious that the animatronic didn't trust him one bit, but then again, the feeling was mutual. After all, the bear was practically a serial killer. For all Mike knew, this was all some kind of twisted scheme. True, he was going to help Freddy tonight, but was he coming back tomorrow? No freaking way.

After tiptoeing cautiously down the hallway, jumping at every tiny sound, Mike reached the dining area, Freddy close behind. The huge hall looked different at night. He'd only ever seen it during the day or on the cameras. At night it had a strange buzzing atmosphere to it. Mike half expected the room itself to come alive and try to eat him. The other animatronics sat in the corner. Bonnie looked up at him with burning red eyes and hissed, but didn't attack him. Chica just briefly glanced up before looking away again.

Mike still couldn't get over how creepy they were, but they seemed less menacing now. It felt weird, though, to see Freddy tipping his hat to the others, like a real gentleman, it felt weird to see how Bonnie's mouth contorted into a frown, it felt even weirder when Chica wrapped her arm around Bonnie's shoulder, comforting him. They looked like robots, with their half-lidded eyes and jerky movements, but there was an eerie human quality to them. Not that that changed anything. It didn't matter whether they were creepy robots or creepy SENTIENT robots, they were still out to get him. He couldn't afford to let his guard down.

Foxy lay on the floor, propped up against the wall. The animatronic was emitting smoke, but aside from that he could've been in sleep-mode. Mike had to admit, Foxy didn't look like much of a threat. He advanced, crouching down slowly. Chica was sitting just across Foxy's body, so close that he could hear the gears in her head whirring. He shuddered, uncomfortable about the proximity. After all, these things had tried to kill him. Trying to ignore his misgivings, he looked down at Foxy. The animatronic was obviously in some pain, or whatever their equivalent of pain was. He was twitching and his eye was shut tightly. As Mike surveyed the damage, Freddy made a loud grunting noise and sat down next to Mike with a crash. The guard flinched. Freddy gripped hold of Foxy's hand in an oddly protective gesture.

"So... You can make him better?"

"M-maybe."

Mike opened his mouth to say something else, although he wasn't sure what, when suddenly there was a burst of sound. It took him a few seconds to realise what it was. The six am bell! Freddy tilted his head upwards, ears flicking.

"It is time for you to go. We see you tomorrow night, yes?"

The large bear turned his gaze onto Mike.

"If we do not see you, we find you, yes? We come to get you..."

Mike sat there, confused, before he realised what Freddy meant. If he didn't fix Foxy, the animatronics would come to get him. Oh God, there was definitely no freaking way out of this, was there? He was trapped.

"Freddy, let's go."

Chica stood up, beckoning for Freddy and Bonnie to follow. Mike stayed stock still as the bear clumsily dragged Foxy off into the darkness, before coming to his senses and bolting for the restaurant doorway. Soon he was out in the early morning light, the sun peeking comfortingly over the horizon. Usually the sight settled him down, with its calm beauty, but after what Freddy had insinuated back at the restaurant, Mike still didn't feel very safe. He rested his head in his hands, groaning. How was he ever going to get out of this one?

(And that's it for now... Sorry for the short chapter, guys. ^^; )


	3. Chapter 3: Reactive

((And here's another one. :D ))

Freddy returned Foxy to Pirate's Cove in silence, trying his best not to trip and fall. He wasn't completely sure if that had been a success or not. He was almost certain that the threat of hunting the human down if he failed to come back had been effective. The only problem with that threat was that it couldn't really be carried out. He had no way of knowing where the human resided, and if he ventured outside the restaurant he would surely be spotted. Still, it had obviously struck a chord.

He sighed, making sure Foxy was sitting upright. It felt weird, seeing the fox just sit there, like an empty suit. Collapsed, staring into space. It reminded him of...

No. Now is not the time for THAT.

He forced his thoughts in other directions. He should probably be getting back on stage... Every circuit in his body urging him to shut down, let himself be controlled by the comfortingly simple program commands he received during the day, but something in his head made him stop. An instinct. Something that shouldn't be there. He turned and looked at Foxy. With strangely steady feet he wandered back over to the other animatronic and stood there, staring. There was a weird feeling in his gut, and his head felt funny, as if he was about to break down himself. He tried to break away, but he couldn't. Something about Foxy, his half-lidded eyes, the way he looked so forlorn, was keeping him there. Drawing him closer. Freddy leant forward and-

"Freddy? Where are you? We need to get back on stage, it's almost opening time!"

Freddy snapped back to full consciousness, eyes flying open, only to find himself only millimetres away from Foxy's face. He whimpered, taking a few steps back. What on Earth had just happened? He wasn't sure he wanted to know. With one last look at the deactivated pirate, Freddy turned on his tail and headed towards the stage.

**He clenched his fists, terror flooding his veins like a drug. He was shaking, barely able to move, but somehow, he reached forwards. He sobbed. Then he pressed record.**

"_**Hello? Hello? Hey! Hey, wow, day four, I knew you could do it!"**_

**He was barely conscious, but he had to continue. He had to. The others would need help. He was the one to give it, and he must, at all costs. Yet, in truth, all he wished for right now was for someone to help HIM.**

"_**U-uh hey, listen, I might not be around to send you a message tomorrow."**_

**The fox bashed on the door with renewed vigour, slamming himself into it like a fly in a glass jar. **

"_**It's- It's been a bad night here for me..."**_

**Understatement of the bloody century.**

"_**Um, I-I'm kinda glad that I recorded my messages for you-"**_

**He choked back a sob. Death hung around him like a cicada swarm. Freddy would close in for the kill any second now... Any second.**

"_**-Uh, when I did."**_

**At least he knew he was going out trying to help someone. And, well, there were less dignified ways to go. His father had died of a drug overdose, his sister did away with herself... But he was gonna go down fighting.**

_**Uh, hey, do me a favour. Maybe sometime, uh, you could check inside those suits in the back room?**__**I'm gonna try to hold out until someone checks. M-maybe it won't be so bad."**_

**Bang bang on the door. Time to say goodbye. Goodbye to his family. Goodbye to everything. **

"_**Uh, I... I always wondered what was in those... Empty heads... Back there..."**_

**Freddy's chime began to play, his ghastly eyes glowing in the darkness. **

"_**You know-"**_

**A moaning filled the office, raspy, human-like. The sound of a person in pain. Maybe those moans were really his, and he was listening to the future. Maybe his life had finished already. He had no way of knowing. Head spinning like a yo-yo, he braced himself for the inevitable.**

"_**Oh no..."**_

**There was a scream, and the grating of metal against skin. He joined the animatronic in its screaming, howling along with it, struggling, yelling, crying until the darkness claimed him.**

Mike woke up in a cold sweat. For a minute he wasn't sure where he was, before he remembered that he was home. Safe. Curling into a ball, he sobbed quietly, eyes screwed tightly shut. That was horrible... He felt like he'd really been there, like HE was the one who'd died. And somehow, knowing that it WASN'T him who'd died wasn't really a comfort either. For the first time, he felt pity for the mysterious Phone Guy, rather then irritation.

Freddy's was beginning to haunt his dreams as well as his waking world, it seemed. Maybe this whole thing was just a nightmare, after all... But that was seeming more and more unlikely. He took a few more deep breaths, trying to get his mind in order, before turning and looking at the clock. Damn. It was 7 o'clock already. He'd have some dinner, chill out for a bit, and then... Back to hell we go.

The restaurant had been quiet today. Way too quiet. Kids used to come there all the time, but now it was almost empty. Freddy used to get swamped by adoring fans when he performed. It had always been against the rules for the kids to touch the animatronics, but sometimes when no one was looking he'd give a few lucky children piggy-back rides or even let them sit on his shoulders. Unfortunately, those days were behind him. No kids came here any more, and those who did were too scared of the animatronics to attempt to interact with them. And anyway, Freddy doubted his body would hold together in a large throng of kids. He used to let them pull on his ears, rip tufts of his fur out. That sort of rough and tumble came with the territory, but now he was too weak to put up with it. He probably couldn't even manage a proper bear hug, nowadays. It was shameful, really.

The only time he ever regained even a ghost of his former strength was during the night, and even then, he wasn't sure he could get the guards suited up properly. He hadn't actually managed to catch one in a few years, they switched and left so fast, and each guard had their own strategies and ways of surviving. They were too smart for him. Freddy sighed despondently to himself. He had once thought of himself as an up-beat person. Now he was just a silly, depressed old robot. If robots could even be depressed. Sometimes he wondered if he was just malfunctioning, and these weren't emotions at all, just glitches.

The rest of the evening passed in an agonizing crawl, and after what felt like a million years the sky finally began to turn black, stars speckling the horizon. Cars passed down the road outside, their headlights leaving neon trails through the air, wheels rumbling like a hungry man's stomach. Freddy watched them with polite curiosity, knowing that whilst they did not possess his intellect, they were rather pretty to look at. The moon began to rise, majestically rising into the air, catching Freddy's attention like it had last night. He was so focused on it, trying to find the appropriate adjectives to describe such a beauty, that he almost didn't notice Mike slipping quietly through the restaurant's doors. Almost.

The young man made his way onto the stage, moving delicately, almost shyly. When he reached Freddy he stared up at the large robot, chocolate brown eyes flicking back and forth. Freddy looked back incredulously, wondering what on Earth he was doing.

"Freddy, dude? A-are you awake?"

The bear chuckled, and Mike jumped, no doubt reminded of the deep laugh Freddy had adopted whilst hunting him.

"Yes. Me- no- I'M awake."

Freddy moved off of his place on stage, wobbling past Mike onto the floor, already directing his gaze to the curtains across the dining hall, curtains that mirrored the night sky. He wasn't going to mess around tonight. Foxy was going come back as quick as possible. Mike followed alongside him, supporting the clumsy animatronic whenever he stumbled.

Foxy was still in his cove, sitting right where he should be, but he looked a lot more menacing in the dark. Freddy could definitely understand why Foxy had been so good at spooking the guards, with his partially destroyed body and wild golden eyes. Mike wandered over to the animatronic cautiously, leaving Freddy to hang about the entrance to the cove. After hanging around a bit uncertainly for a few minutes, Freddy departed, content to realm the restaurant in his own company. Now that there was no one to hunt, he found himself desiring to properly explore the restaurant without continuously being scrutinized by a faceless guardian.

((A/N: This last bit of the chapter is going to be me bumbling around with technological terms I don't really understand, so if I start spouting ridiculous techno-babble, then please bear with me. I'm no mechanic. ^^; ))

Mike sat there for a few minutes, studying Foxy closely, before pulling a large set of screw drivers out of his backpack. He'd come prepared for anything, tonight. After a few mistakes, one of which almost resulting in him decapitating Foxy completely, he managed to find the right sized screw driver. The screws in Foxy's head were rusted, and it was a mission trying to get them out without damaging the robot's suit, but soon the large red and silver panel on top of Foxy's head slid off with the reluctant grinding of rust being shaken out of place. The first thing he noted was the unusual layout of the animatronic's insides.

There were wires everywhere, all carefully clipped onto the back of Foxy's endoskeleton. It was hard to tell what part was which, but eventually Mike discovered a large grey box nestled within the chaos. He could only assume this was Foxy's CPU, but it was wildly different to anything he'd encountered before. It looked a bit silly, to be honest, this odd, futuristic looking piece of tech accompanied by a managled mess that appeared as if it had been put together by a five year with a soldering iron. One thing was for sure, this was no ordinary animatronic brain. Whoever had made this was either a genius, insane, or perhaps both.

The further Mike delved, the more intrigued he became. Jammed on the back of the robot's endoskeleton was a black disk drive, containing a small CD. After trying to play it in the restaurant's only TV and failing, Mike ended up leaving it alone, wishing he'd brought his computer. Then again, it mightn't play on a computer anyway, it was smudged and scratched like nobody's business. However, after some careful thought, he decided to keep it out of the drive, curious to see how Foxy would behave with it's absence.

It turned out that the reason for Foxy's malfunction was rather obvious, not to mention easy to fix. Just one single wire, snapped and twisted. With a little patience and a few close shaves with the soldering iron, he managed to get the wire back in place. Now, all there was to do was boot him up and...

Once again, Mike's attention drifted to the CD, sitting forlornly on the mechanic's desk. What if it was important? He turned to Foxy, looking at the slumped-over robot. He could take a chance. And judging from the more and more frequent presence of Freddy in the doorway, he didn't have much time left before six. He reached round Foxy's head, ready to press on the on switch, when a large hand clamped onto his back. Nearly jumping out of his skin, Mike spun around to be confronted by Freddy's large blue eyes. The bear usually wore a scowl on his face, but now he reminded Mike more of a lost kid, eyebrows turned upwards and mouth open in a small "O". It was no surprise that Freddy reminded him of a child, sometimes. The animatronics were programmed to emulate the behaviour of those around them, and Freddy had been surrounded by kids since he was created.

"You fixed Foxy yet, guard?"

"Uh, y-yeah. It was r-really simple, actually, just a broken w-wire. I just need to turn him on..."

The huge bear bounced up and down in excitement, shaking the floor so violently that Mike almost fell over.

"Wake up, yes?! Wake foxy up?!"

Mike swallowed, nodding nervously, sliding his arm to the back of Foxy's head again. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the switch and took a step back, uncertain what was going to happen next...


	4. Note from the author

As some of you may have noticed, I just deleted the fourth chapter of my story. Why? Because I don't like it, that's why. The recent chapters I've been writing have been getting progressively worse (I'm actually up to chapter seven but to scared to publish it) and I'm not sure how to fix it. I've been putting a great amount of time and effort into trying to make this story work, although it may not seem like it. However, I really don't like the latest chapters, the plot has started to head in a predictable direction, and one of the reasons why I write this is to keep you guys guessing. I'm not going to quit writing this, I've only just started, and it's very fun to write, however it may be put on hold temporarily whilst I try to fix it. I'm sorry about this, and I hope you'll all forgive me, you've been very patient with me so far. I can't thank you enough for the support, and I hope I can get this story back on its feet.

Speaking of getting the story back on its feet, a lot of you guys seem to be better writers then me, so I'd be very grateful if I could have some suggestions on what to do with this and how to improve it. Again, thanks for your patience, I hope I can keep this shambolic little fanfic going for a little while longer. Adios, until next chapter!

-Zoe. (AssortedSouls)


	5. Chapter 4: Awoken (REMADE)

(A/N: I remade this chapter... It's basically the same, but with a few tweaks. I felt like I was hurrying along Foxy and Freddy's relationship more then I should, so I've slowed things down a lot. After all, I want it to be as sweet as possible when they finally confess to each other... Obviously, their romance is a major factor in this story, and it will be blatantly obvious that both of them have strong feelings for the other, but because they're both slightly confused and uncertain... It might take a while for one of them to make a move. I felt like the whole kissing thing happened way too quickly...)

A click echoed from deep within Foxy's brain, but other then that, he stayed frozen. One second passed. Two. Three. Four. Then, with a jerky uncertain-ness, Foxy began to move. Mechanical eyes flew open, arms twitching spasmodically, a strange groaning noise emitting from behind rusted teeth. For a minute or so Foxy just sat there, stunned, before he turned to face Freddy, slowly but surely. As their eyes locked, Mike felt kind of... weird. There was something in those gazes, a kind of expression that these animatronics certainly shouldn't be able to have. Foxy kept the intense stare for a few seconds, before his broken jaw lifted into a toothy grin, looking positively joyful, and, for the first time, not scary at all.

"F-Freddy, matey?"

Freddy made a weird choking noise. Mike watched the scene in silence. There was a small silence, when suddenly Freddy shoved Mike out of the way, lunging towards Foxy. By the time Mike had steadied himself, he was greeted by a rather unusual sight. Freddy was hugging Foxy, pulling the smaller animatronic up to his chest, head buried in Foxy's right shoulder. It was then that Mike noticed that Freddy's shoulders were shaking. Was he... crying?

"Ssh, matey, it's a'right..."

Foxy muttered, all the while looking at Mike confusedly. Obviously the animatronic had no idea what had gone on in his absence. In fact, he might not even know that he'd been absent in the first place. Trying hard not to smile, Mike backed away quietly, planning to give the animatronics some privacy, when a huge shape darted in front of him and large fluffy arms grabbed him into a giant hug.

"T-thank you! You fixed my Foxy! You fixed my Foxy!"

Mike staggered backwards, the air shot out of his lungs by what was perhaps the most enthusiastic bear hug in history. It weirded him out to think that this was the animatronic that had been trying to kill him only two days ago.

"Uh, Freddy, I c-can't breathe..."

After the bear released him, then Mike grinned up at the sizeable robot, shaking his clumsy metal hand.

"And, Freddy... Call me Mike."

Suddenly there was a small cough and the guard and bear both turned around. Foxy was standing by the desk, an odd expression on his face. In his hand was the disk from the drive on the back of his endoskeleton. The fox lifted a hand slowly, running it through his fur.

"Arr... Mateys, me memory is all... Fuzzy. Di'n't this 'ere disk used to be on me endoskele'on?"

Freddy started to look nervous. He felt nervous, too. That was the disk where the programming that led Foxy to believe the guards were endoskeletons was stored. Without it...

"Uh, n-no, Foxy. Let go to pirate cove, yes? Want to talk to you."

Mike watched, confused, as Freddy dragged Foxy off, leaving the disk behind. What was that about? One minute, Freddy had been hugging him, the next minute he was running away. Unless... He looked at the disk, and wondered.

Freddy plonked Foxy down on the floor, collapsing beside him, the wooden boards creaking beneath his frame. Foxy appeared to have let the disk slip out of his mind for now (literally and figuratively), and was instead chatting away to Freddy in his usual boisterous tones. The animatronic was not listening to Foxy, which was unusual for him. Instead, he was studying the fox warily, scanning his face. Any minute now Foxy could see something that would set off a distant memory. Namely, the memory of Freddy shutting him down and clumsily installing new programs against Foxy's will. Yet somehow, the red robot sat there, smiling and chattering away. Freddy relaxed, realising that he was probably safe, at least for now. Although, for some unknown reason, he couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze away from the strange pirate.

Yellow eyes blinked up and down, not because they needed to, but because his programming demanded so. Jaw flicked up and down, creaking and clicking. Arms gestured manically, pointing and spreading wide in enthusiasm. The more Freddy watched, the more enthralled he became. He'd never really noticed Foxy before, but now that he did...

"Matey? Are ye doin' OK? Ye look a bit strange, ye do."

"Oh, eh, yes, I fine, Foxy."

No, he wasn't, he really wasn't. This kind of feeling certainly wasn't ordinary, the strange fluttering in his chest, the tightness in his throat... Yet, it wasn't necessarily an unpleasant feeling... He kind of liked it, to be honest. For a few minutes, Freddy continued his musings in silence, studying Foxy's face and sharp jawline, so he was a bit slow to react when Foxy actually asked him a question.

"Say, eh, Freddy? I've been wonderin', and would ye like me to teach ye how ta write?"

Chica popped her head into Mike's office, almost scaring him to death.

"Hey there endoskeleton! How're you doing?"

"J-Jesus, Chica you gave me a ruddy fright!"

She tilted her head at him, giggling.

"Sorry. Hey, since we're not, um, trying to stuff you in a suit anymore, I was wondering whether you want a tour of the restaurant?"

All of this was said in about a fifth of a second, and it took Mike a while to process what she'd just said. When he finally did, he still didn't really understand.

"Ch-Chica... Are you trying to be nice to m-me?"

"Well, why not? Ya fixed Foxy, after all. He's our friend, and I don't know what Freddy would've done if Foxy had been gone forever."

Mike pondered her offer for a minute, before sighing and standing up, sighing.

"Fine."

Chica giggled again, grabbing his hand and dragging him down the hallway before he could get another word in.

"And this, endo, is the kitchen!"

"Chica, I told you, my name is MIKE. And I've seen the ruddy kitchen at least five times already! Can we move onto something else?"

Chica put a hand on her heart, feigning hurt.

"Dear dear... Endoskeletons these days have no sense of taste. Come on, Mike, it's the kitchen? How could you not love it?"

She spun around, throwing an arm over Mike's shoulder.

"They make pizza in here... PIZZA."

"So?"

"PIZZA IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD."

Mike responded with a roll of his eyes. This bird sure loved her food.

Foxy scratched a line into the floor of pirate's cove, humming contendedly to himself. Freddy watched, transfixed, as the random line curved to form a symbol... A letter. He loved watching Foxy write. The animatronics had never officially been taught how to write, but Foxy was so observant and creative that he'd somehow managed to teach himself. Also, Freddy supposed, it might have something to do with the amount of free time Foxy had...

The pirate finished the letter with a fancy swirl and puffed his chest out proudly. Freddy clapped, bobbing up and down with excitement.

"Very good Foxy! Very good!"

"Thank ye kindly, matey. Now, why don't ye give it a try?"

Freddy scrambled backwards, blinking in confusion.

"M-me? O-OK..."

The pirate grunted happily and proceeded to unscrew his hook, handing it to Freddy. After a bit of initial confusion the bear managed to make a shaky line, with the aid of Foxy. Freddy stared down at the floor, trying to copy the scratches Foxy had made, but it was hard... Especially with Foxy's hand placed on his, helping to steady his grip. He felt all fluttery again, and it was made worse when Foxy whispered words of encouragement right next to his ear. However, despite feeling increasingly flustered, Freddy eventually managed to finish the symbol, even adding a fancy swirl at the end. Foxy nodded approvingly and grinned, gold teeth glinting from his jaw.

"Arr, that's some mighty fine 'andwritin' ye got there matey... Yer a natural!"

Freddy snorted, but stopped when he saw the serious look in Foxy's eye.

"You think so?"

"Aye! Yer much better then I was when I first tried me hand at writin'."

Freddy scrutinized the letter carefully, and decided that he agreed with Foxy. The letter didn't look half bad, in fact, to be honest... It almost looked like he'd done this before... It was strangely familiar handwriting, at least.

"Eh, Foxy... What letter... Is this?"

"This? This, matey, is th' letter 'F'."

"Why you chose that one?"

"Well, F is the first letter in me name, and the first letter in yer name. Thought it was sui'able."

After a few more minutes of silence, only broken by the enthusiastic whirring coming from within Freddy's "brain", the bear smiled and made a contented noise in the back of his throat.

"I like that letter, Foxy. Looks... Nice..."

Foxy turned and looked straight into Freddy's eyes, and the bear's breath hitched for a second as their gazes locked. Then Foxy laughed.

"Aye, matey, it does. Say, why don' I teach ye to write yer 'ole name? That'd be interestin', no doubt."

Suffice to say, the answer was a resounding "yes".


	6. Chapter 5: Freddy the red-faced Fazbear

(A/N: Yeah... Another chapter... Not sure what to say here... ^^; It starts from Bonnie's POV, for once, since he isn't getting much love in this story... )

It was about 3 am, and the restaurant was filled with darkness. However, despite the blackness, the pizzeria had a friendly atmosphere about it. Unlike previous nights, when the air had been heavy with fear and the stench of death, now it was full of distant laughter, talking and even the odd burst of music. Homely scents drifted through the air, pizza and the slight minty odour of candy canes. And all of this because of one person... Endoskeleton.

Michael Schmidt.

Bonnie had to admit, the boy had done a good job on the place. The cobwebs were, for the most part, gone, and little twinkling Christmas lights were beginning to make their way through the halls, draped over walls like crystal snakes. Still, he wasn't sure if he quite trusted Mike. This stuff seemed too good to be true.

"Hey Bonnie!"

Chica waddled down the hallway towards where he was crouched, carrying a huge cardboard box in her arms, tinsel spilling out of it. The rabbit grunted sourly in reply, trying to keep his gaze away from Chica. He'd never quite known how to talk to her... Chica was always so cool, with her kind attitude and her skill in the kitchen... He felt simultaneously envious and endearment for her, and the only way he knew how to deal with that was to avoid conversation with her completely. He shoved his face into his hands, irritated. He could almost feel Chica's concerned gaze burning into his back, but fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, she moved on. As her footsteps faded, Bonnie looked up, and almost fell over when he found Mike staring straight into his face. The damned endoskeleton seemed to have decided it was his turn to do the jumpscares.

"J-jeez, Mike. Ya almost gave me a heart attack!"

Mike chuckled and rubbed his face self-consciously, which, sadly for him, only drew attention to the acne that speckled his cheeks. Wait... Since when did endoskeletons have acne? Maybe it was a new design thing? Bonnie shook his head as static filled his brain, preventing the thought process from continuing any further.

"Uhh... Bonnie, I was wondering and... Well... Umm..."

"Spit it out already! You're almost as bad as Freddy."

A blush grew on Mike's face and he squeaked shyly. With an inward groan, Bonnie realised that the kid was nervous. Maybe he shouldn't be so harsh...

"I-I, um, we, were wondering if y-you'd like t-t-to come and help decorate the Christmas tree..."

Bonnie snorted and reached over to ruffle Mike's hair.

"Sure... Mike.

Foxy made a sudden lunge for Freddy with a red christmas decoration in his hand, laughing maniacally. The bear stumbled backwards with a startled yelp, but it was too late. Foxy successfully hooked the bauble onto Freddy's nose, giggling like a crazed four year old whilst Freddy swatted at the air trying to get it off.

"FOXY! I... I'M not a Christmas tree!"

The fox replied with a rambunctious chorus of "Freddy the red-nosed Fazbear", which only proved to infuriate Freddy more. After a violent chase around the dining hall which resulted in a Freddy falling over and almost snapping the floorboards, Chica finally decided to intervene.

"Boys, that's enough! Flirting is fine and all, but not when it could possibly cause the destruction of furniture."

Foxy puffed himself up in agitation and grunted loudly, "We weren't flirting!" but Chica wasn't listening, instead she was staring past him.

"Anyway, Mike and Bonnie are here!"

Both the bear and the fox spun around simultaneously, to find Mike standing in the doorway with Bonnie close behind. Instantly the "red nose" argument was forgotten and Mike found himself getting hugged within an inch of his life by a slightly over enthusiastic Foxy.

"Endo, or whatever yer name is! Glad ye 'n Bon-Bon could make it!"

Bonnie hissed, narrowing his eyes.

"He's called Mike, and I'm called BONNIE. Get it right, Captain Hook."

Foxy replied with a mischievous grin, before he let go of Mike and hurried back to Freddy's side.

"Well, why do we get star'ed on this 'ere tree, eh? Whaddya say, lads and lassie?"

Everybody replied with a loud, "aye aye, cap'n!", even Bonnie.

Chica stood up on the ladder, very slowly, clinging onto the rungs for dear life.

"F-Foxy... Are you certain that this is safe?"

"Absolutely, lass! Me and me matey Bon-Bon 'ave got a good tight grip on this ladder... Ain't that right, Bon-Bon?"

"DON'T CALL ME BON-BON!"

Mike watched the chaos ensuing by the tree, smiling wistfully to himself. All of the animatronics were like big kids, in their own way. It made him kind of nostalgic, to be honest... He hadn't really had friends since he was a pre-teen, and, truth be told... Freddy and the gang were the first people... Things, that he'd actually bonded with in a while. They were terrible, yet very innocent in their own way. And they all had their own unique personalities, their quirks, their individual emotions. He couldn't bring himself to hate them, although he still felt sorry for the security guards that had died at their hand. Then again, most of them weren't really murderers, and even Freddy's behaviour had been caused by a misunderstanding. From what Mike could tell, Freddy believed that all security guards were made in the same factory, or something, and that if one was evil then ALL of them must be. There'd be nothing to prevent Freddy from thinking that, after all, he knew practically nothing about human beings... All he really had to go on was his prior knowledge about machines...

"Eh... Eh... Mikey?"

Speak of the devil. Freddy stood in front of Mike, hands behind his back, eyes glued to the floor.

"Freddy? What is it?"

The bear shifted uncomfortably.

"I... Eh... I wanted to... Say sorry... To... You."

"Why?"

"I... I killed people... I was... mad. But you... You good, Mike... I trust you. I'm going to... Stop the... Stuffing..."

Mike blinked. Him and Freddy must've both been thinking about the same thing.

"Do you mean that?"

Freddy smiled.

"Y-yes... I don't want the others to find... truth, just yet. They're... Happy, now... But soon, they must know soon."

For a minute there was silence, before Mike swallowed and asked a question that he'd been wanting the answer to.

"Freddy... What was that disk in Foxy's head?"

"It made him believe guards were... Endoskeletons... Without it, he still not realise guards are human... We would need to remove another disk before he fully remember."

"Jeez, Freddy, how much stuff have you put in these guys heads over the years?"

Freddy looked down, frowning bashfully.

"A-A lot of things... I-I like numbers... Programs... Only thing that really... make sense... for me."

Mike smiled hesitantly at the bear's child-like body language and gripped Freddy's left shoulder with his hand. The bear looked up, blue eyes flicking back and forth.

"Freddy... I'm not prepared to completely forgive you for the whole murdering thing... But, I really like you and the others, so... I'll still be friends with you. I just don't completely trust you yet, and, well, it was absolutely horrible what you did to those guards..."

Freddy twiddled his thumbs, but there was a sad smile on his face and Mike knew that he understood.

"Hey, Freddy, Mike! Chica managed to get the star on top of the tree!"

"We'll be there in a sec, Bonnie!"

The security guard and the giant bear wandered over to the tree together, a weight lifted from their respective shoulders.

When Freddy reached the tree he was once again ambushed by Foxy, except this time the fox whipped the red bauble off Freddy's nose, rather then putting it on. Freddy growled, but it was a mock growl, and it was cut off swiftly as Foxy wrapped his arms around Freddy's waist in a friendly hug, squeezing the bear's fluffy stomach. Chica and Mike both started giggling as Freddy's face went bright red and he practically melted into the floor. Bonnie also noted this, and as he adjusted a branch of the tree he started singing...

"Freddy the red-faced Fazbear..."

('Kay, this was the first "Christmas special" chapter. I say "first", because there might be another Christmas chapter, or maybe even three Christmas chapters! I'll see how many I can get out before Christmas.

Eh, also, guys, I was wondering, and do you think I should make the chapters of this story longer? The updates would be more infrequent if they were... So would you preferI make short chapters but update regularly, or longer chapters with infrequent updates?)


	7. Chapter 6: Sleep

Just Like Clockwork – chapter six

(A/N: Yeah... This'll be another Christmas-y one, I think. I hope you enjoy it! P.S: This update happened faster because I'd actually already written this chapter a while back and decided I should post it before Christmas...)

Freddy curled up in the corner of the stage, flopping onto his side. He felt exhausted, to be honest... Maybe he should recharge for a bit... After all, it was only 6:30, and the restaurant opened at 9. He had plenty of time. He wriggled slightly, trying to arrange his awkward body into a vaguely comfortable position. How humans managed to sleep lying down like this ever night, he'd never know. With a groan he reached behind his head and pressed the shut down button behind his left ear.

"You have selected the option "shut down". Do you wish to continue?"

"Yes."

Freddy's optical sensors shut down first, leaving him alone in the darkness, then a familiar tingling spread through his body as one by one his electronic "nerves" closed over. Finally, he felt his brain begin to close off in the same manner, and as he abandoned himself to the dark, a small line of text tracked across his vision.

"Neural sensors shut down. Virus scans complete. Entering dream mode in 3...2..."

"_Freddy, you're my best friend!"_

_The bear blinked, before smiling and tipping his top hat._

"_That's a very nice thing to say, Amelia, but what about the others? Surely they're worthy of your friendship also?"_

"_Well, yeah, but you're my favourite!"_

_He opened his arms and gave her a big bear hug, which caused a few disapproving looks from parents, but he couldn't care less. He needed this. He hardly ever allowed himself to disobey programming during the day, but if he didn't do it every now and again then he might go insane. This girl was, perhaps, the only one he trusted right now._

_Amelia noticed his arms tightening and looked up, concerned. _

"_Freddy... Y-you're crying... Why?"_

_He wiped the oily tears from around his eyes, bending down until he was at her level._

"_Amelia... Freddy's been... Having a hard time, recently... People have been... Trying to make him do bad things..."_

"_Have you done bad things, Freddy?"_

_Freddy turned towards the prize corner, eyes narrowing as the marionette waved smugly at him from the safety of its little box._

"_Yes, darling... I have."_

_The bear gave her another tilt of his hat, before he started to walk towards the edge of the stage. It was with terror yet a strange calm that he wandered up the steps. Every inch of his frame throbbed with pain, but he kept walking, clutching at his stomach as nausea began to close in. Somehow, he managed to drag himself up to his place at the microphone, static storming throughout his brain. The audience turned, confused. Hadn't the performance already finished?_

"_Uh... Good afternoon, folks. This is the first and the last time I'll be talking to you as myself, my real self. I wanted to, uh, say bye..."_

_The security guard was already inching towards the stage, but it was too late. Freddy staggered forwards until his toes dangled off the edge._

"_Goodbye, little ones. It has been a real pleasure."_

_He lifted his foot up and sent it flying downwards, falling through empty air, the rest of his body following along._

Freddy re-activated, jumping up. That was a very old memory, that time, he was sure of it. Dream mode was a randomized file-opener, if you will, it cycled through his drives and picked a moment from his life, then re-played it to him whilst he slept. He attempted to add a date and time to the dream, but it had already closed, leaving him with nothing but a memory of a memory. With a sigh, Freddy adjusted his top hat and crossed his arms, defeated. It was at that moment that Chica poked her head around the door, tilting her head questioningly.

"Freddy? You're gonna be on stage in a minute, OK?"

"Yes."

He stretched, joints screeching and clanking. It was going to be a long day. Less and less people had been coming to the pizzeria recently, so the animatronics were getting worked to their limits to attempt to attract more customers. It was difficult. Things had been so much easier when Foxy had been able to help out. Freddy placed his heavy head in his hands as his cue beeped loudly. It was time to go. The usual overly sparkly music started playing over the speakers and he waddled out of the curtains and onto the stage.

Foxy rolled over, lying on his back with his arms and legs splayed out like a starfish. Freddy's deep voice fluttered across the hall, calming his nerves slightly, but he still felt on edge. Most people got lethargic or pessimistic when bored, but Foxy did the opposite. Quite often he'd ended up tearing pieces out of the wall or even his own suit for lack of entertainment. It drove him mad, knowing that it was gonna be at least 6 hours before he saw Freddy again. That was too long. Grunting and growling, Foxy sprang to his feet and began pacing. This was torture for him, being away from the kids, being away from the bear. Damn. He turned his head, peering at the gap in the curtains before looking back at the door placed in the cove's wall. This was so annoying.

Anywhere else would be better...

Maybe he could actually leave? He could, couldn't he? There was nothing stopping him... No-one was watching him... It'd be so easy to leave... He'd be back by 12, he wouldn't be missed. Conflicted, Foxy walked around in a circle, raggedy tail swishing amongst the dust on the floor. Dare he break one of Freddy's precious rules? The answer was yes. He tilted his head, stalking towards the door. One twist of his hand. That was all. He stretched an arm out, ready to grip the door handle, when suddenly the cove's curtains swung open.

"Foxy?"

Freddy stood there, smiling weakly. Foxy spun 180 degrees, bolting away from the door.

"Eh, Freddy, matey? What're ye be doin' 'ere? Shouldn' ye be performin'?"

Within the space of a second it became obvious something was wrong. Freddy wrapped his arms around himself and shuddered as if a sudden chill had come over him.

"F-Foxy... Show got... Made short."

"The show got cut short? Why?"

"Th-there were no audience... Was no audience. We couldn't perform because no people here..."

Foxy frowned. Surely Freddy had it wrong. People had always come to the restaurant... Yet, when he scooted over and looked outside, it was true. There wasn't a child in sight. Fear slowly inched its way into his gut like melting ice. He was about to say something when all of a sudden he was engulfed by a tearful bear hug, silencing him temporarily.

"F-Foxy... The childs no... No like me. They n-no like me. D-d-did I do someth-thing w-wrong?"

Foxy returned the hug, burying his snout in Freddy's fur.

"I'm sure it's nothin' personal, matey. The kiddies are probably just busy with their Christmas shoppin' and the like."

Freddy responded with a mournful sob and Foxy sighed. He knew that feeling. After all, the animatronics adored children very much, and to learn that the adoration might not be returned was a heavy blow.

"C'mon, look on the bright side! I mean, now ye have the day off, don' ye? We can go look at th' Christmas decorations, or if ye want, I can teach ye how ta write some more letters!"

Freddy pulled away, rubbing his arm awkwardly.

"OK... I g-guess..."

Foxy grinned and gripped Freddy's hand.

"Tha's the spirit, matey! Keep yer head up!"

After a little bit of wandering they reached the Christmas tree. It looked kind of sad at first, sitting there in the morning light, so Foxy pulled down the shutters and switched off the lights, leaving them in the dark with the Christmas lights glowing comfortingly. Greens, reds, yellows, all glinting like tiny gems embedded in the tree's branches. It was pretty, certainly. Foxy sat down, dragged Freddy onto the floor with him.

"Foxy?"

"Yep?"

Freddy curled up, leaning on Foxy's shoulder.

"Christmas is best time of... the year, I think."

"It is, Freddy. It is."

And so they stayed for an hour, underneath the Christmas tree, and for the first time in years Foxy felt his heart grow lighter.

(A/N: Sorry that it's short but I wanted to get this shit done before Christmas. Bweh. I'll be taking a break over Christmas and the New Year but hopefully I'll be back into it after New Year's day. :) Um, enjoy, and stay awesome, I guess. 3)


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